July 31, 2025.
MTN Nigeria Plc, recorded a pre-tax profit of N419.61 billion, in the second quarter,(Q2) of 2025 a major turnaround from the pre-tax loss of N179.60 billion recorded in the same period last year.
This was released in the company’s condensed consolidated and separate financial statements for Q2 2025, ended June 2025
This feat builds on the N202.63 billion pre-tax profit posted in Q1 2025, bringing H1 2025 pre-tax profit to N622.24 billion and also marking the third consecutive quarterly profit for the telecom giant after struggling with losses in 2023 and 2024 due to significant foreign exchange losses and high interest expenses, largely driven by devaluation of naira.
Speaking on the performance, CEO, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola stated:
“We are excited by the progress made in the first half of 2025, reflecting the successful execution of the strategic priorities we previously communicated to the market. Building on the momentum from the first quarter, we delivered strong growth in service revenue for the period under review. This was driven by robust demand for our services, proactive customer value management, and price adjustments, mainly in Q2.”
Further review of the financial statements shows that the impressive bottom line was also driven by a combination of other factors:
A significant growth in revenue.
Slower growth in operating expenses relative to revenue growth and a significant drop in net foreign exchange losses.
Revenue in Q2 surged to N1.3 trillion, representing 69% year-on-year growth, pushing the half-year revenue to N2.4 trillion, up 54.5% YoY and already 71% of 2024 full-year revenue.
The revenue components showed that data revenue contributed more than half of the total revenue in both Q2 and H1.
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Revenues from data surged by 85%, reaching N699.95 billion in Q2, pushing its H1 contribution to N1.23 trillion.
Voice revenue, On the other, increased by 58% to N427 billion and saw its contribution ratio drop to 32.36% in Q2. In the same vein, its share in H1 fell to 32.81%, despite a 44% Year on Year, (YoY), growth to N780 billion.
The improvement in both voice and data revenue can be traced back to price increases implemented during the period.
Giving credence to these, Karl Toriola stated:
“During the period, we completed the phased implementation of the new price adjustments across voice and data bundles, largely benefiting Q2. Pleasingly, the demand for our services remained resilient, which supported strong service revenue growth in the period.”
This strong top-line growth helped muffle the impact of growing expenses, as EBITDA surged by 183% YoY to N709.5 billion in Q2, pushing H1 EBITDA to N1.2 trillion. The company maintained a robust EBITDA margin of 51%.
Total expenses rose moderately by 14.2% YoY to N611.9 billion in Q2, with H1 expenses totaling N1.18 trillion, representing a 19% increase.
Another formidable driver of MTN’s turnaround was the significant reduction in net foreign exchange losses.
Instructively, MTN recorded a net foreign exchange gain of N295 million in Q2, compared to a loss of N231.32 billion in Q2 2024.
This helped moderate the net FX loss to just N5.23 billion in H1 2025, a stark contrast to the N887.68 billion loss recorded in H1 2024.
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Consequently, the company recorded a strong net profit margin of 21% in Q2 and 17.45% for the half-year. Earnings per share (EPS) also improved significantly, rising to N13.41 in Q2 and N19.78 in H1.
The company’s balance sheet showed that it recorded further improvements. Total assets expanded by 13.69% (N574.68 billion) to reach N4.772 trillion as of June 2025.
Retained losses also improved markedly, standing at N192.89 billion compared to N607.47 billion as of December 2024.
This helped to shrink the negative shareholders’ funds to -N42.45 billion, from -N458 billion at the end of 2024.
As of the close of trading on July 30, 2025, MTN Nigeria’s share price was on a bullish run in 2025, the stock was priced at N471.10, representing a 136% year-to-date return.
The strong rally made MTN Nigeria the most valuable listed company on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and rose above Airtel Africa in market capitalization.
